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Saturday, December 01, 2007

1ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT

DECEMBER 2, 20071ST SUNDAY OF ADVENT - A

ISAIAH 2:1-5AThis is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.In days to come, the mountain of the LORD's house shall be establishedas the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shallstream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: "Come, let us climbthe LORD's mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he mayinstruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." For from Zionshall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples.They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears intopruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another,nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let uswalk in the light of the LORD!

ROMANS 13:11-14Brothers and sisters: You know the time; it is the hour now for you toawake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when we firstbelieved; the night is advanced, the day is at hand. Let us then throwoff the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let usconduct ourselves properly as in the day, not in orgies anddrunkenness, not in promiscuity and lust, not in rivalry and jealousy.But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for thedesires of the flesh.

MATTHEW 24:37-44Jesus said to his disciples: "As it was in the days of Noah, so itwill be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before theflood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until theflood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the comingof the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will betaken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill;one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! Foryou do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: ifthe master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief wascoming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be brokeninto. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do notexpect, the Son of Man will come."

REFLECTIONToday the Church inaugurates a new year dedicated to our reliving intime the central mysteries of the life of Christ. Christ is the "theAlpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and theend", and the Church has us begin each year focusing both on the endand on the beginning so that we might better live the present.

Advent is that season in which we prepare for Christ's coming in thepast, in Bethlehem, his coming in the future on the clouds of heavento judge the living and the dead and his coming in the present in somany ways, but especially in the Eucharist.

Advent, like the life of faith as a whole, is fundamentally dynamic.There is movement. Christ out of love is coming toward us and we, outof love, await his coming, so that we might embrace him with joy.There is a temptation sometimes to look at a new liturgical year withlittle or no excitement, similar to what we experience when we watchre-runs of television programs or movies. We know how the story endsand therefore it makes less and less of an impression on us each timewe view it. But that is not the way God wants it and that is not whatthe liturgical year is meant to be. There is meant to be a whole newdrama for us in this new liturgical season in which we, with Christ'shelp, rise to meet the challenges that he puts before us.

Every liturgical cycle is supposed to be a liturgical spiral. We arenot meant to repeat last year's steps but rather to retrace theirdirection at a higher and more intense level and do so withenthusiasm. The experience of last year is meant to help us to have abetter season this year.

Jesus tells us in today's Gospel that, when he comes, there will bewinners and there will be losers. Jesus stresses: "As it was in thedays of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man." We knowwhat happened at the time of Noah. The Book of Genesis tells us: "Thewickedness of mankind was great on the earth. It grieved God to theheart". The majority of people were drowning in their own wickedness,so self-absorbed that they did not even see the storm coming. Noah wasbuilding a boat, awaiting God's word to be fulfilled.

Jesus tells us that history will repeat itself. When he comes again,some will be ready and some will not be ready. Jesus himself has comeinto the world and built a new boat for us, the Church, stockpiling itwith the salvific provisions of the sacraments, his Word and his verypresence, but we have to be wise enough to see the forecast and to geton that boat. Jesus tells us very clearly in the Gospel how to avoidmaking the same mistake that the people in Noah's day did. The meansis to "stay awake," to remain always vigilant and alert for his returnso that we might never "fall asleep spiritually" and be caught offguard.

St. Paul interprets for us what that means in the second reading. Hesays: "Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on thearmor of light; let us live honorably as in the day, not in revelingand drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not inquarreling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, andmake no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."

My dear friends, thus, each of us is faced with a choice. The choiceis between light and darkness, between day and night, between life anddeath. If we choose to "revel in drunkenness, debauchery,licentiousness, quarreling and jealousy," we are choosing the darknessand will remain there. In the final analysis, we either "makeprovision for the flesh, to gratify its desires," or make provisionfor the Spirit, to gratify God.

Jesus and St. Paul sound an alarm clock for us today. They tell us towake up. And they give us the Good News that we can "walk in thelight of the Lord", leaving "the works of darkness" behind, and "puton the Lord Jesus Christ." That is the way we will always be ready toembrace Christ whenever and wherever he comes. We know that whenChrist came into the world the first time, some people were ready, butmost people were not.

Mary Immaculate was ready and said a hearty "yes" to God's will.Joseph was ready and therefore capable of adapting quickly to God'smysterious plans. The shepherds were ready, vigilant at night, to runto Bethlehem as soon as they heard the news. The Magi were ready, soready in fact that they were able to discern the newborn king'spresence through the presence of a star.

On the other hand, Herod was not ready, too caught up in his own prideand sensuality to recognize the source of his authority. Theinn-keepers were not ready, so caught up in their business that theycould not find the time and space to house their Creator. Thescholars of the law were not ready to make even the short six milejourney from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to learn from the DivineLegislator. The vast majority of the Jewish people, who had beenawaiting the advent of their Messiah for centuries, were simply notprepared when at last he came. The surest way for us to be ready forChrist when he comes in the future is to be ready for him now. Thesame Christ whom the shepherds and Magi adored in Bethlehem comes tous in the Eucharist, in an even more humble disguise.

Our response to Jesus in the Eucharist now is the true indication ofwhether we are awake or asleep; whether we are like Noah or so many ofhis contemporaries; whether we are imitating Mary and Joseph, theShepherds and the Magi; or whether we are behaving more like theinn-keepers, or the scholars of the law and Herod. How we respond inthis year is therefore a test of our sincerity and faithfulness toGod. How would we have responded two-thousand years ago if we were inBethlehem? The best indication is how we respond now when Christ ishere with us. In this new liturgical year, let us get it right.Emmanuel, God-with-us, has come. He is here with us now in theEucharist. Come, let us adore Him.

PRAYER REQUESTSWe pray ...... for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for theunborn.... for the strength, healing and speedy recovery of:- Damaso Guevara, Eligia Fernando, Sr. Belen Latorre, DC- Fr. Santos Mena, S.J.- Tom Diokno- Epifania Ylaya... Good health: Guevarra Family... for Baby Brodie Allen Kee... Birthday: Robert Ong... for the eternal repose of the soul of Sr. Serena Escarcha, DC.Eternal rest grant unto them and may perpetual light shine upon them.May they and all the dearly departed rest in peace.... for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.- Birthday: Isis T. So- Birthday: Laura M. Marnelego... for world peace and reconciliation.Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayersand for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

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